Posts in PC & Peripherals
Nvidia to acquire Ageia for the PhysX chip
Tom Krazit | Feb 06, 2008
Nvidia snapped up Ageia, with plans to add Ageia's PhysX technology to its GeForce graphics chips.
Ageia makes a chip called PhysX that makes killing and blowing stuff up with a PlayStation controller all that more lifelike, essential for satisfying a generation of video gamers who are apparently well-acquainted with what really happens when you hit a fuel truck with an RPG. In all seriousness, the processing power that's required to simulate events like explosions and smoke or fog is immense, so much so that a standalone chip for just that purpose was required to really drive the experience home.
The PhysX chip can be found in all three of the modern gaming consoles--PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii--as well as in add-in cards for PC gaming. Developers have to write their games with the processor in mind to unlock the performance, and over 140 titles are available for consoles and PCs that support the PhysX technology.
Ageia describes the role of the PhysX processor as part of the "Gaming Power Triangle" which consists of the CPU, a GPU from either Nvidia or AMD's ATI, and the PhysX "physics processing unit". "The third leg of the triangle..."moves and interacts" to take gaming to the next level with pervasive dynamic motion and interaction", according to Ageia's Web site.
Within the next couple of years, however, that triangle will collapse. Intel, AMD, and Nvidia are all working on chips that aim to marry the benefits of graphics processing--extremely fast processing of repetitive tasks--with the flexibility of general-purpose PC processors. Intel's Larrabee project, AMD's Fusion project, and Nvidia's CUDA development are early steps toward that goal.
And now Nvidia plans to integrate the PhysX technology into one of its GeForce graphics chips "as soon as possible", according to Derek Perez of Nvidia. This is a long-standing trend in chip design, where chips that used to occupy standalone roles for reasons of cost or complexity--like PhysX--wind up squeezing their way onto the main processor. You can thank Gordon Moore for that.
Via CNET Crave
Vista SP1: Too little, too late?
Darius Chang | Feb 05, 2008
If there ever was an exercise on how to alienate consumers, then Vista would surely be the textbook case study. Despite numerous delays, when the latest Windows operating system was finally launched a year ago it was met with so many reports of bugs and slow performance that users were actually reminiscent of Windows XP (despite having more than its share of bugs and complaints as well). Given a choice, more than a few customers would rather use the previous-generation Windows than have to deal with Vista.
A year down the road, and the promised Service Pack 1 for Vista is just beginning to roll out. Mind you, this update does not even have significant new features, but simply fixes basic processes like startup, shut down and a myriad of other applications that should have worked on launch day. The final release is slated for mid-March, though if you are as impatient as us you can try downloading the Service Pack 1 RC version. However, remember to follow the uninstall process according to Microsoft's instructions before putting in the final version.
Maybe this is why MacBooks are slowly creeping up from behind and grabbing more market share, especially since its own Mac OS X Leopard operating system is not only relatively bug-free, but even works on three-year-old Mac machines. So has Vista resulted in more Mac fanboys out there?
Samsung's tiny trackball mouse
Mike Yamamoto | Feb 04, 2008
Its M30 Duplus Mouse is "a pocket-size trackballer with a wireless USB connection system, a laser pointer, and remote controller capabilities", according to Everything USB. As we noted more than a year ago, earlier versions already looked too small to be used comfortably, even without such additional features. In the new M30, it's the trackball that appears particularly tricky, though maybe it's just because we've never been
As far as the multiple features are concerned, we really shouldn't be surprised. It's been clear for some time now that Samsung's R&D labs are completely out of control.
Via Crave CNET
Microsoft indecent proposal to Yahoo
Darius Chang | Feb 04, 2008
Will the marriage between two giants be enough to take on a mammoth? When it comes to search engines, Google is the undisputed leader, with Yahoo and Microsoft playing second and third fiddle to the Mountain View company. However, Microsoft's buyover bid at US$31 per share for Yahoo did come as a surprise.
With flagging profits and a rather bleak outlook in 2008, some say the software giant's offer was way overpriced and meant to blow any competing bids out of the water. Moreover, the corporate culture between Yahoo and Microsoft is so different that many critics speculate that this will go the way of Hotmail, whereby Yahoo becomes a mere subsidiary of the Redmond corporation without providing much, if any, benefit. Moreover, Microsoft has huge anti-trust hurdles to cross in Europe and the US even if Yahoo agreed to the offer.
On the other hand, proponents of the deal believe the consolidated customer base will increase the collective benefit from economics of scale, though whether this will work out depends strongly on how the details of the deal. Nonetheless, unless Yahoo manages to perform a small miracle and turn its business around, this may be Yahoo's final hurray.
SanDisk takes SDHC memory card to 32GB
Stephen Shankland | Feb 04, 2008
The company announced its 32GB Ultra II SDHC card Thursday at the Photo Marketing Association tradeshow in Las Vegas, a model designed with the needs of flash-based video cameras.
It will cost about US$350 when it goes on sale in April, the company said. A US$180 16GB Ultra II card will be available in March, and both come with a MicroMate USB card reader.
In addition, SanDisk announced a US$100 8GB Ultra II Plus card. It hinges open to reveal a USB plug that lets the card be directly connected to a computer.
All the new cards can write data at 15MB/sec, a notch up from the 9 or 10MB/sec of earlier Ultra II models, SanDisk said. However, that's not as fast as CompactFlash models, where SanDisk's top-end Extreme Ducati cards reach 45MB/sec.
SanDisk spokesman Ken Castle wouldn't comment on when the company's 32GB CompactFlash cards might reach the market. Competitors PNY and Transcend announced their 32GB CompactFlash cards in January.
"We've chosen to go with the SD first. That's where the momentum has been," Castle said. "Camcorders with HD (high-definition video) can eat memory pretty quickly."
SanDisk in 2007 sued 25 flash-card competitors, including Transcend and PNY, alleging patent infringement.
Via Crave CNET
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